


Well Played, Little Wizard

by mutuisanimis



Category: Young Wizards - Diane Duane
Genre: Chess, Gen, Kit shows up for two paragraphs, NME Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 11:56:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2811140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mutuisanimis/pseuds/mutuisanimis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darryl decided that trying to talk That Problem out of a chess game was probably more effort and more danger than just giving in and playing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Well Played, Little Wizard

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wizardslexicon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wizardslexicon/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, lex! I hope you enjoy this! It was a challenge to get into That Problem's mind, but a very exciting one. Wishing you all the best in 2015 :) Many, many thanks to bookhobbit, devieklutz, themerrygentleman, and geekhyena over on tumblr who beta'd or otherwise listened to me complain about That Problem. Dai stihó, cousins :)

Everything was grey, lit from an invisible source. Slowly below faded into green and above came in blue, and a slight breeze began to blow. Now the light seemed to come from one direction, and heat along with it.

Darryl McAllister suddenly found himself seated in the partial shade of an oak tree in what seemed to be a park. In front of his three-legged wooden stool was a small wooden table, and beyond that, a second wooden stool.

 _Great,_ Darryl thought. _Just what I need after a week of no sleep is a waking dream._ He yawned and looked around, conscious of the sounds of people and animals, but unable to process them at all. That’s what he got for running himself ragged on the project with S’reee that week. He was supposed to spend this weekend recovering, and instead he felt on the edge of shutting down. What timing the Powers had.

“Power, singular, actually.” A tall Being strode across the grass and seated Itself on the other stool. It slid out of Its long coat and scarf, revealing neatly styled auburn hair, pale skin, a black button-down shirt shot through with silver, and well-tailored black slacks.

 _Are you serious?_ Darryl pulled his feet up onto the stool to sit cross-legged. He rocked forward and back slightly, trying to get comfortable, and then kept at it because rocking itself was comfortable and soothing.

“Fairest and Fallen, greetings and defiance,” he croaked. Rote phrases were good.

“Smallest and sullen, I am greeted and defied.” The Lone One’s face curled into something Darryl assumed was meant to be a grin, but he couldn’t quite tell, and it didn’t really matter. No expression It could make could possibly be comforting.

“Don’t mind the background noise,” It continued casually. “You can turn it off if you like.”

Darryl looked around again and realized that there were, in fact, no animals or people making the sounds. He focused on the idea of silence for a moment, and it fell around them. Then he focused on his stool until it turned into a wide armchair—that way his ankles didn’t hurt from the wood, and he could balance better as he rocked.

Then he took a deep breath. “Out.”

“What?”

“Out of my head.”

“We’re not in your head,” It answered mildly. “We’re in a neutral dream-space.”

Darryl took a minute to work that out. It was a relief, but still… “You answered my thoughts. Stop listening.”

The Lone One dipped Its head.

“Okay?” Darryl demanded.

“Okay.” It agreed. “Now don’t you wonder why I’m here?”

Darryl squeezed his hands into balls. “To give me a headache, probably.”

The Lone One chuckled softly. “I was hoping to avoid that, actually. It would give Me an unfair advantage.”

 _Unfair?_ Darry considered. _Isn’t that usually Its whole game?_ But then, Darryl supposed, something like a headache wouldn’t be nearly subtle enough for That Problem to consider effective.

Then on the small table between them a chess set appeared—simple, but smoothly carved of beautifully stained wood.

“You play, yes?” It asked.

Darryl nodded. “What do you want?”

“I’ll be black,” It said smoothly.

“They are both shades of brown,” said Darryl. Two could play at deliberate misunderstandings. “And fine. But I meant why do you want to play chess with me? What do you want?”

“I want to play chess, obviously.” It gestured at the board between them.

Darryl rocked forward, pressing his fists against his knees. “Why?” He sank back and resumed steadier rocking.

“To be entirely honest, little wizard, it is because I am bored. What better solution than a _board_ game?” It stroked at Its nonexistent beard and regarded Darryl carefully.

Darryl directed his own gaze to the chess set and giggled in spite of himself. It had said “board game” in English to ensure he got the pun, and it shouldn’t have been this funny, but he was exhausted.

The Lone One waited with surprising patience until Darryl had gotten all the giggles out of his system. When he ceased rocking and looked up, Darryl saw what appeared to be the ghost of a smile on his opponent’s face.

“Are you smiling?” he asked.

In response, Its smile broadened and almost reached Its eyes.

“ _Why_ are you smiling?” Darryl continued, rather flatly. In his experience, when That Problem started smiling, chaos and destruction soon followed.

The smile fell away, and it was a quiet moment before the Lone One answered. “I suppose, it is hard not to smile at someone so thoroughly enjoying My joke.”

Darryl pondered that. Then he decided that trying to talk That Problem _out_ of a chess game was probably more effort and more danger than just giving in and playing.

“Fine,” he agreed, squeezing his hands tighter so he could feel his fingernails. “But no talking while we play. Knock the table if you want to announce check.”

The Lone One inclined its head again, smiling almost imperceptibly. “Very well.”

Darryl took one pawn of each color and switched them from hand to hand behind his back, then held out two fists. The Lone One pointed to his left hand, and Darryl opened it to reveal the darker pawn. It smirked, as if to say, “I told you I would be black,” and Darryl rolled his eyes very deliberately. Then he replaced the pawns on the board and made his first move.

They had no clock, but the game moved quickly all the same. Darryl was worn out, but the gentle breeze was calming, the chess was invigorating in some way, and if he didn’t have to talk, all the better. He took a black pawn, then lost one of his own and his queenside bishop. Then he took both of Its bishops, another pawn, and one of Its knights before he lost a rook. One by one the pieces collected at the side of the board until Darryl found himself tipping over his king and admitting defeat.

“Good game,” he offered reflexively, though he declined to offer the customary handshake.

“So it was.” The Lone One agreed with another slight nod and smile. “Are we speaking now?”

“Sure.”

“Are you expecting a rematch?” It asked, watching Darryl reset his pieces on the board.

“Don’t think you came here for one game.”

“If you are willing to play again, I would be most pleased.” It began resetting Its own pieces, then chose two pawns, moved them about behind Its back, and offered fists to Darryl. He pointed to Its right hand, which opened and revealed the dark brown pawn again. It set the pawns in their proper spaces on the board, then spun it around so that they had the right pieces in front of them.

“Sure.” Darryl began rocking again as he waited for That Problem over there to make Its move. After a few moments of silence, It took the kingside knight over to the left and sat back.

“So why did you agree to play?” It asked.

Darryl mirrored Its move, bringing his own kingside knight out to the right. “Morbid curiosity?”

“Do you consider Me dangerous to your health, then?”

Darryl watched It look for Its next move, pressing his palms into his knees. “Uhhhh...yes?” He hoped his tone made it clear that that was the only logical answer to such a question.

It selected a pawn to advance. “Do you expect I will harm you right now?” Its voice was strangely...curious. Darryl could not detect any underlying motives or taunts. He hoped he wasn’t missing anything.

“No.” Darryl made his move and waited.

The Lone One narrowed Its eyes as if trying to understand, then nodded slightly and made Its next move as well. “Why not?”

For several moves Darryl didn’t answer—a combination of not wanting to give his opponent what It wanted too easily and of not quite having the words to answer the question. His opponent, however, did not press him for answers. Instead It merely made Its moves, removing a few of Darryl’s pawns quietly from the board. In return, Darryl had gotten a pawn and a knight.

At last, after he had been forced to give up his queenside rook, Darryl stopped rocking and looked up, still pressing his hands heavily against his knees and fixing his gaze just past That Problem’s right cheekbone. “I don’t expect You will harm me because You don’t want to. Or perhaps can’t, I’m not sure.” He was taking a risk with this, he knew.

Across the table, Its eyebrows rose silently as It raised and then lowered Its head, which Darryl took to mean, “Oh _really?_ Do go on.”

He went on. “You don’t kill or harm wizards directly. It’s inelegant, and possibly impossible. Probably interferes with the natural order of things, or something. Certainly You had Your chance with me when I was on Ordeal, and You did nothing. So I don’t expect You will harm me right now.”

Darryl paused and surveyed the board in front of him. He picked up a knight and gently swapped it for the Lone One’s kingside bishop. “Check.” Then he sat back in his chair and leveraged his hands against the arms of it to press his back into the back cushion.

The Lone One nodded slowly and silently, as if in understanding or agreement, but Darryl couldn’t really tell which and did not know how (or if he wanted) to ask. He watched It move Its king, expecting a reply, but receiving none.

Again, one by one, pieces of both colors began to pile up off the board. Again both players lapsed into silence. Again Darryl tipped over his king in defeat.

The Lone One cleared Its throat and inclined Its head minutely in what might have been a bow. “Well played, little wizard.”

“Good game,” Darryl answered, replacing pieces on the board and waiting to see if It would say anything further.

“One more?” It asked, picking out two pawns and setting them in front of Darryl.

“Sure. Last one.” He shuffled the pawns behind him while That Problem finished resetting the board, then held out his two fists. It pointed to his left hand again, which this time revealed the lighter pawn. He set both pawns in position and waited for It to make Its first move.

But It didn’t. It simply watched him. So for a few moments, Darryl simply watched back.

Finally It glanced down—just long enough make make sure Its fingers landed on the correct pawn to move forward—before It commented, “That co-location trick you’ve got is pretty clever, you know.”

Darryl’s hand stilled with his fingers on the head of the queenside knight. He hadn’t been sure It had figured that out. Like, not all the fragments of That Problem interact with time the same way, right? So maybe this version of It hadn’t remembered that he’d tricked It? He took a deep breath as quietly as he could and squeezed his other hand into a fist, then moved his knight as if nothing were wrong. _But of course._ This _is why It’s here, It’s angry with me._

The Lone One moved another pawn. “Relax, little wizard,” It soothed. “I am not angry with you.”

Darryl clenched both fists again and began to bounce his legs up and down. “I thought I told you to stop listening to my thoughts!” he demanded, reaching for a pawn to advance.

The expression on the face of the Great and Terrible Kindler of Wildfires softened, then, into some emotion Darryl could not parse. Suddenly the stool on which It sat made a small _pop!_ and transformed into an armchair very much like the one Darryl had made for himself. The Lone One sat back in it, allowing gameplay to halt for a time.

“I did not need to read your thoughts, little wizard. Every one of your sort hates and fears Me in some combination, and wisely fears My wrath.” It tapped Its fingers on Its chin and made a few more strokes at Its nonexistent beard. Darryl bounced his legs quietly and dug his nails into his palms, saying nothing.

Then It sighed and leaned forward again, bringing Its kingside bishop out into play. “What I mean to say is that at this moment, you need not fear Me or My wrath.”

Darryl waited silently through several more turns before It continued. “In all honesty, I am pleased with you. As they say, ‘getting one over on’ Me like that is not easy.”

Darryl took out one of Its rooks with a knight and cleared his throat. “Um, just so I’m sure I understand,” he said, “You are pleased with me because I lied to you?”

The Lone One gave another very slight smile, studying the place where Its rook had just been. “Well, you didn’t _really_ lie to me. You omitted key facts. Which, again in all honesty, is something I have been well known to do.” It moved Its other rook to take out Darryl’s queenside bishop.

Darryl took another few turns and several captures to process those statements, wincing when he lost his queen to a foolish error. “So…” he finally ventured, “You think I’m coming to Your side? Because I’m not. Lying and deceit may be Your territory, but I keep my promises, and I’ll go back there if You make me.”

He finished as loudly and steadily and defiantly as he could, and even forced himself to study That Problem’s face for Its reaction. To his astonishment, It looked almost...disappointed? Sad? But why?

It looked down and the board and made Its move, capturing Darryl’s second bishop with Its own queen. “No, little wizard. Quite the opposite.”

It sank back in Its seat, looking for the first time—in Darryl’s experience—deflated. Darryl surveyed the board and found that in taking his bishop, somehow That Problem had not noticed the knight he had guarding that square. He studied it more closely, determined not to fall into a trap here with so few pieces left on the board, then moved his knight and took the queen.

The Lone One sat forward and looked at the board, but Its expression did not change in the slightest. It simply moved its last pawn one more square forward. “No, little wizard,” It repeated. “It is because you are so very good, so unlike Me—so unlike this part of Me,” It amended.

Darryl made his next move but stopped bouncing his legs. The squeaking sounds distracted too much from these very important words. They exchanged a few more moves and a few more pieces, in silence, though. It seemed that That Problem had trouble with words from time to time, and in a strange way, Darryl was sympathetic.

“You are so very good,” It finally repeated, staring at the nearly empty board for a long moment. Then It coughed. “Do you know what your friends Nita and Kit did to Me at the end of their Ordeal? Did for Me? Ask them.” Then It trailed off, saying “so good” again in a near whisper and made Its final move.

“Stalemate.”

***

The next day, as Kit Rodriguez was munching on his favorite abominably sugary breakfast cereal around 10am, he saw the messaging section of his Manual light up. He flipped to the page with the pulsing glow.

_Hey, your Kitness— I need today off to recuperate, and probably most of tomorrow to do homework, but I had a reeeeeeally strange dream last night and we need to chat. See if you can come over for dinner tomorrow, will you? -D_

He was thinking about writing back and saying that Darryl really should bother Nita with dream-related stuff, when the page pulsed again.

_Bring Neets if she’s free. -D_

Kit shrugged, took another bite of chocolatey deliciousness, and started composing a message to Nita.

**Author's Note:**

> I did not map out every single move of these chess games but I did try very hard to make them realistic. If you catch any glaring errors (someone had three bishops or something), I would be most pleased if you pointed them out to me :)


End file.
